World Athletics ratifies Kipchoge’s world record

World Athletics has ratified Eliud Kipchoge’s world record of two hours, one minute and nine seconds he set in last year’s Berlin Marathon held in September.

Kipchoge took off 30 seconds from the previous world record that he had also in Berlin in 2018.

It was Kipchoge’s 10th title at the World Marathon Majors making him the most successful marathoner ever.

The 38-year-old Kenyan went out hard, passing through 5km in 14:14 and 10km in 28:22 – not just comfortably inside world record pace, but also well inside a projected two-hour finish.

He maintained that pace through half way, which was reached in 59:50 – identical to his half-way split when he produced a sub-two-hour run in an unofficial orchestrated race in Vienna three years ago. His pace started to drop slightly from then on, but he was still comfortably inside world record pace.

Ethiopia’s Andamlak Belihu had been level with Kipchoge up until that point, but the Kenyan superstar then gradually pulled clear and was out on his own. He passed through 30km in 1:25:40, then reached 35km in 1:40:10. By the time he passed through 40km in 1:54:53, his lead had grown to more than four minutes.

Kipchoge went on to cross the line in 2:01:09, making this the eighth consecutive men’s marathon world record to be set in Berlin.

"I am overjoyed to have broken the world record," said Kipchoge. "I wanted to run the first half so fast. After 38km I knew I would be capable of breaking the world record. The circumstances were great, and so was the organisation.”

Also ratified is the world Under-20 100m record of 9.91 seconds set by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo in last year’s World Junior Championships held in Cali, Colombia.

The World Under-20 4x100m record of 42.59 seconds set by the Jamaican women team in Colombia has also been ratified.